The Brave and Proud
by mamamia19922
Summary: AU: Damon, a SVU NYPD detective is thrown a curveball when he is assigned to a case in which an beautiful girl named Elena is the victim. How will Damon help Elena deal with her PTSD? As they fall in love, a new case tests Elena and Damon's fresh love. WARNING: May be triggering for rape victims.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a very, very delicate subject. Rape, torture. Not easy subjects to write about. Somewhere I read that I must put my characters through hell for them to be believable. People keep writing Elena as weak, as sensitive and shy. This Elena in here isn't. She's a survivor. This is **_**her **_**story.**

**Rated K+ for subject matter.**

**I do not own TVD, the characters or anything like that. **

Damon POV

A steady beep slowly woke Damon up. His room was pitch black, his pager's green flashing light the only thing illuminating the room. Damon sighed, and rubbed his face covered with stubble.

"Shit." he grumbled, slowly sitting up. He had gotten-what, two hours of sleep? He had been working nonstop on a rape/murder victim for a month now. They had finally located the perp on his way out of the city. He thought he was going to get a full night sleep, nightmare free, for once.

His eyes in slits, he glanced at the pager.

"Shit. _Shit." _he said, scrambling up to put on his pants. Central needed him in. _Now._ The kidnapping case he was assigned to finally got a hit; what, he didn't know.

His phone started to ring, the shrill sound echoing through his tiny, one bedroom apartment.

"What." Damon snapped.

"Where are you? Did you get your page?" his partner Andie snapped. "Captain wants us to get working on this case as fast as possible."

"I'll be right there. I just got in and must have just gotten it. Keep your panties on, geez." he replied. He scrambled to put on his pants, throwing a leather jacket over his slept-in shirt. He clipped his badge to his front pocket, running out of the door onto the New York streets.

Damon Salvatore was a detective of Special Victims Unit of NYPD. He specialized in locating kidnapped rape victims. They said he had a nose for this kind of thing. _Damon always knows when there's a damsel in distress, _his coworkers would chuckle. He had been born for law enforcement. His fit, athletic body perfect for chasing down fugitives. He had slowly worked his way up the ranks, slowly but surely. He had just been promoted to SVU detective about a year before, and was assigned his pain in the ass partner, Andie.

He neared the doors of Central, and quickly ran up the large marble stairs. Once he reached his office, he quickly swiped his key card and neared the break room.

He reached for a coffee cup, but Andie's hand swiped the cup right from under him.

"Me first. I don't think I've slept for the past ten years." Her light brown hair hung limp around her face. Dark circles under her eyes popped out on her pale face, as she closed her eyes to appreciate her first hot sip. Damon smirked. She really looked like shit.

"You look like hell warmed up, Andie," he snapped. Andie rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to retort. Damon interrupted, "So what is so important? What is our lead?"

"Well if you stop being suck a dick, I'll tell you." Andie snapped.

Andie and Damon walked together towards their office, their steps in sync.

"We got a tip from an older lady down on West Side. She said she saw a suspicious vehicle in front of her street for a while. She said she brushed it off, but then the next day she thought she heard screaming. I went over and interviewed her, and she didn't seem crazy. Her place is within two miles of where the vic was picked up."

Shoulder to shoulder, they looked over their display board. The victims' photo was posted in the middle of the board, surrounded by maps and different pictures of suspects.

Andie turned to Damon.

"I really think we should get a team in there. I think it might be her."

Damon shook his head. "For all we know, it could be an out of town lover screaming her head off in ecstasy. We don't know jack shit. I'll scope the place out, but I'm not doing anything until I have some reasonable evidence." He put his now empty coffee cup down. "Want to come with?" he asked, grinning.

"Damon. This could be it. You know I have good instincts. I really think this is it." Andie insisted, her green eyes full of concern.

Damon put his hand on her shoulder. Andie always got attached to the victims. It made for a painful recovery when they didn't make it.

"I know," he said. "But we can't get our hopes up. Come on, let's go."

They headed down to the garage together, and climbed into an indescript squad car.

Damon revved the engine and headed towards the West side. In the quiet of the car, his mind wandered.

They had been working on this case for a week now. A whole week, this innocent girl was kidnapped, and probably tortured. Damon sighed. Her face haunted him in every dream. All the victims did.

His mind flashed to a girl they didn't get to in time. A prostitute, beaten to an inch of her life by her pimp. They found her in time to bring her to the hospital. Damon clasped her hand in the ambulance all the way there. She died in surgery. Some things you can't fix.

Finally they arrived. In the whisper quiet of the night, Damon pulled up next to the endless rows of brownstone.

"Nice place," he muttered. They climbed out of the car, and looked over the houses. "I'll take the back. Remember, this is just a look around. No entering, no knocking, nothing," he barked. Andie nodded and started towards the front of the house. Damon crept into the dark alley next to the house. The house had a tiny backyard, with tall wooden plank fence surrounding one side. Damon reached for the lock. Surprisingly, the door swung open.

"Hmmm. That's interesting." he muttered. He quietly slipped in. Letting his eyes adjust to the darker backyard, he looked around. A sliver of light came from a low window, the light piercing the dark night around it. Damon crouched and came up to the window, peering through the sliver.

"_Oh. Shit." _

**Uh oh…. what's in the basement? Until next time! Review! Is this good? Bad? Should I ditch it?**


	2. Chapter 2

Damon scrambled up. _Shit. Shit. Shit. The girl is in there. Fuck. Shit. _Damon tried to calm his racing heart. Never in a million years would he suspect the girl to actually be there. And the room.. Damon shook his head. She was in for a long recovery from this horror.

"Andie," he whispered into their walkies.

"Yes?" Andie whispered back. "I haven't-"

"It's her. She's in the basement. We need to call backup and get in their pronto." Damon urgently whispered. He slunk out the fenced area, and crept down the alley for a second time. His heart sunk getting farther away from her, from that room. He hoped they weren't too late.

Andie and Damon met each other back at the car. Andie was already calling in, barking in orders in a clipped voice.

"Yes. Every fucking unit. We have a 207 and a possible 187. The girl is 21, about five four and a hundred and fifteen pounds. The address is.." Andie droned on, getting all the help she could get. Damon started pacing. How the fuck did they get that lucky? Either the guy is super sloppy or an idiot. Or dead.

His mind raced, analyzing all the possible exits and entrances. He needed to get to her soon, or he was going to implode. For some reason, the ability to stay calm escaped him. The view of that small basement room with the girl put him over the edge. Something about her sweet face in all the pictures in contrast with the silent despair he saw then was sickening.

Andie walked up beside him. "I called everyone. ETA: three minutes. Don't worry. We've got him," Andie murmured. Damon turned to look at his partner. He was about to break a thousand rules. But something inside him screamed to get into that house.

"I'm sorry, Andie. But I have to do this," he said. Before she had time to react, he reached behind her and clamped the handcuffs onto her arms. He shoved her into the back of the car.

"Damon! What the hell are you doing?!" Andie shouted at him. Damon put his finger up to his mouth.

"Shh. I'm sorry. I have to do this," he whispered. He walked away from the car, his heart hammering. He was dead. No way were they going to keep him as an officer. But he had to know the girl was okay. He pulled out his gun, and walked calmly down the alley, hopefully for the last time. Confident now, he crept to the back door of the house. He quickly jimmied the lock and stepped cautiously into the house. Pitch black, all he could see were the streetlights streaming in through the windows. The kitchen was sparsely furnished, with a single chair next to a card table. To the left of him was the door to the basement. With his gun still raised, he pointed it down the stairs. The door slowly creaked open, letting the single light downstairs guide him. Checking behind him, he slowly walked down the stairs, trying to not let the stairs creak underneath him.

As he neared the bottom, he finally got a look at the room. A dim, single light bulb hung from the ceiling. A dirty, bare mattress lay on the floor. The cinderblock walls were covered in damp water droplets. The temperature was probably twenty degrees colder. On the floor next to the bed sat an old glass devoid of any water.

Shocked, Damon finally laid his eyes on the girl. Or in fact, the woman. Her eyes were closed, her legs firmly tucked into her arms. She had a pale pink tank top on, and baggy jean shorts. She had no socks or shoes, or even a blanket. Even from afar Damon could tell she was shivering. From the temperature or fear, he didn't know. His heart ached like he had never experienced before. Quickly, he approached her bed. Her eyes flew open at the sound of the footsteps and jumped up, and crouched in the corner. A sound mixed between a gasp and sob escaped her dry lips. Her huge eyes bore into Damon's.

"Elena," Damon whispered. "My name is Detective Damon Salvatore. I'm the police. Please don't be frightened. We need to get you out of here." Damon took a step towards her. She curled deeper into the corner.

"G-get away from me. I don't believe you. Show me your badge first," she demanded. She licked her lips, her eyes darting back and forth from the stairs and Damon.

"Here. Here is my badge," he said. He grabbed it and tossed it over to her, while stepping closer. "We really need to get out of here before someone comes." Elena cringed at the mention of someone else.

Damon cursed himself. Of course he wasn't supposed to mention her captor. His mind raced through his hostage training he received many years ago. He didn't know what to say next.

She reached down and grabbed the badge. She brushed her fingers over the engraving of the emblem of NYPD. Hesitantly, she looked up at Damon.

"Okay. I'll come with you," she whispered. She took a step toward him, still cautious.

"Good. Come on, we've got to get out of here," he murmured back. Damon let out a breath. Thank god that they got that figured out. Then, suddenly, a creak came from right above their heads. Damon and Elena both whipped their heads toward the noise.

**Ooooo. I wonder who it is? Good? Bad? Was it believable? Any reviews would be welcomed. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for such a long wait. This chapter just wouldn't come! Some Damon/Elena interaction. **

Elena's POV

"Don't say a single word!" Damon hissed at Elena. He clamped his cool hand over her mouth. She could barely breath. _Oh, god. _They crouched and moved over to the underside of the staircase. _I'm going to die,_ Elena thought, over and over again. Has she really come this far to die in the arms of this strange man? Who knows, this guy could be just another bad guy, trying to kidnap her as well. Her heart sped up. _I'm never going to see my family again. _Elena started silently weeping, the quiet tears slipping softly down her face. She was exhausted. She was starving. She just wanted it to be done. The touch of Damon's hands made her skin crawl. Unconsciously she started to shimmy away from his body. The nearness was making her sweat, a panicky feeling started to overcome her. She needed to get away from him. Now.

"Shh, shh. It's okay," Damon whispered, his blue eyes reflecting concern. She heard a whimpering noise. She finally realized it was coming from her. Damon slowly rubbed his calloused hands up and down her arms.

"Don't worry. You stay here. I'll deal with whoever is upstairs," he whispered. She saw his pulled out his gun, and started to inch towards the right side of the bottom of the stairs. He reached the bottom step and slowly pressed his weight onto it, making it creek softly.

"Put your hands up, now," a stern voice echoed down the stairs. Elena saw the man-was his name Damon? She couldn't remember- visibly relax, and smile. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Andie," he grinned, "Thank god. You nearly made me shit my pants. I've got the vic, alive." Elena saw a tall, slender woman make her way down the stairs. Andie's chestnut eyes widened when she saw the living conditions.

"Shit," she mumbled under her breath.

Damon walked back towards Elena, who was still curled up in a ball in the corner.

"Elena," he said softly, "It's okay. We've got you now. We need to get you to the hospital for a check-up, okay?" Elena nodded. For some reason she trusted this man. His blue eyes radiated safety, made her stop thinking about-. She stopped the thought. She got up gingerly to her feet. She didn't realize how cold she was until they reached the floor above, which was significantly warmer. The house was now alive with people, officer's radios squawking as they inspect the house, the red and blue lights from the cars outside streaming in through the thin curtains on the windows. Damon shrugged out of his leather jacket and wrapped it about her, leading her out of the house. Elena buried herself in the jacket, and slipped into the back seat of a cop car. The scent wafting up from the jacket was a mixture of pine and old leather. A hint of Old Spice lingered as Elena took in her surroundings. Damon was arguing with another officer outside the car, and eventually through his hands up in the air. Elena's pulse rose as she heard the muffles of the animated conversation. Nerves wearing thin, she couldn't handle any kind of tension right now. She was so caught up in watching the fight going outside her window; she didn't notice the driver's side door opening and an officer getting in until he slammed the door. Elena's heart starting hammering, and panic started to squeeze her lungs. She couldn't believe this was happening again, someone was taking her away again. She reached for the door handle and tried to wrench it open, but she couldn't. In her mind she was back in the basement with a locked door. Screams came from somewhere, the horrible sound engulfing the car until she couldn't breathe.

"Elena!" a sharp voice cut through the sound, the fog of terror around her. She opened her eyes and stopped screaming, her throat sore from the sounds. Blue eyes met hers.

"O-officer… D-damon, someone's taking me away again and then I couldn't get out-," she stammered. Why could she not breathe? Her hands shook uncontrollably, god she was so alone. Why is this happening to her?

"Elena," Damon stated. "You are going to be okay. Don't worry. Here, I'll sit next to you as we go to the hospital, okay? This is Officer Rick, he's going to drive us there, he won't hurt you." The officer in the front turned and offered up a sheepish grin, conveying he wasn't harmful. Damon slid in next to her the back sheet, and reached over and buckled her in. The pine and leather smell was more prominent, since the source was so near.

The car started to move, the blue and red lights flashing and the car slightly swaying as it picked up speed. Elena slipped into her first nightmare less sleep in days.

She woke up in the hospital. She could tell instantly by the smell. She kept her eyes shut against the light and listened to the people around her. This was a trick she learnt down there, she-.

Pushing away those thoughts she adjusted. She was in a soft bed, which felt like clean sheets. She sighed, and slowly opened her eyes to her surroundings. The walls were a faint grey cinderblock. Beeps could be heard from the hallway through the closed door, and chatter beyond that. She looked over to the left, and Damon sat there asleep. She took the time to examine the man who saved her. His ink black hair stuck up in all directions, like he had been pushing his hands through it a million times. Light stubble marred his face, and the wrinkles around his eyes relaxed as he dozed. His leather jacket, which was around Elena before, serves as a blanket now, his large frame barely getting covered.

The door to the right suddenly opened, the Elena shrieked, startled. Her hands gripped the sheets by her as her heart pounded a mile a minute. Seeing that it was a nurse, she started to calm.

"Trying to scare the living daylight out of her? Just barging in like that? Who do you think you are?!" Damon scolded the nurse. He must of the leapt out of the chair at the intrusion, because his leather coat was now on the floor.

"Sorry, officer. I though both of you were still asleep," mumbled the nurse. The cocoa skinned woman stepped closer to Elena.

"Hello, Elena. I'm Nurse Bennett, but you can call me Bonnie, okay? We need to start your examinations now since you are awake," she stated in a calm voice. She turned towards Damon. "You have to leave now," she said.

Damon whirled towards her. "Are you serious? There is no way I am leaving!"

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "This examination is a very private affair. No one but her and her significant other can be present."

Elena sighed. "Officer- Detective- whatever you are. I'll be fine," her shaky voice replied. Damon sighed, and ran his hand through his hair one more time. "Fine," he said, as he snatched up his jacket and walked towards the door, his eyes on hers. "But I'll be right outside if you need me." Once Damon left, Nurse Ben..Bonnie, turned to her.

"So do you know what this examination will be?"

**I know that is a weird place to stop, but I want to warn you- the next chapter will be very, very triggering for rape victims. The examinations rape victims go through are through and personal. So, skip the next chapter if you feel you do not want to read! PLEASE PLEASE review! I want to know what you think. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the chapter being so short guys! I really, really wanted to give a warning before we got into some triggering things, so that's why it had such an abrupt ending. Thank you to all who reviewed (Rasha007, Princesssparkle15, Kaybaby1127, etc etc etc), I really appreciate it! Okay, ONWARD.**

Bonnie came over to Elena's side and reached to grab her hand.

"How are you feeling? Dizzy? Tired?" she asked, reaching with her other hand to gently massage the IV drip bag to make sure it was administering the fluids.

Elena shook her head. Clearing her throat, she opened her mouth it seemed for the first time in decades. "I don't know, I guess. It just feels so.. weird being here," she responded.

Bonnie nodded. "That's typical for someone who has gone through so much as you. I'm going to talk to you about an examination you can have, okay?" she said, softly.

She crouched down to sit on the plush chair next to Elena's bed.

"Do you know what kind of examination you can have after a sexual assault?"

Elena flinched at the word. "No.. wait. Do you have to collect evidence or something? I think I saw it on TV somewhere."

Bonnie nodded. "Yes. It's a totally optional examination you can have that includes me taking some clothing, hair samples, nail clippings, urine, saliva and a physical examination of your genital area."

Bonnie looked at Elena with unflinching eyes. Elena could tell she had given this speech many times, a fact that saddened her. How many girls have gone through what she is going through right now? Should she do the exam? Did she really want the answers to the questions she had? Elena sighed.

"Yes. I want to do the exam. Let's get the bastard," she said sternly.

Bonnie smiled. "All right. I already grabbed the necessary materials, are you ready to get started?" Elena nodded.

For the next five minutes Elena zoned out as Bonnie collected clothes, and nail clippings. When it came to give the urine sample, Elena gingerly climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom with the cup.

Elena couldn't believe her eyes at the reflection staring at her. Her once shiny hair had dulled and frizzed to the weeks of it not being clean. There was no trace of makeup, she had long cried it all off. But most of all were her eyes. She always got complimented on her eyes, on the depth and color of her eyes. But these were not her old ones. These eyes had seen horrible, horrible things. These eyes were eyes of a victim. Of someone who had seen too much in a short time period.

It's a cliché, isn't it? A person staring at the mirror and seeing something they don't recognize? Elena shrugged it off. She wasn't ready to be this new person yet.

She came back to the small room, and laid back down on the bed.

Bonnie came over to her side, and took her hand.

"It's time to do the physical examination, okay?"

Elena nodded.

As Bonnie got ready, tears stared to stream down Elena's face. She half-laughed at herself. All the things she had been through, and _this _is what she cries about?

She told herself over and over again in her head that is was just an exam, it was just a procedure. But as Bonnie continued, Elena couldn't help the severe shudders running down her spine.

_It was night time. At least, she thought it was. The covering on the windows were darker. She had heard him come in about three hours ago, upstairs. She swears he was waiting to come down just to terrorize her. The wait was almost worse._

_Finally she heard him open the door and descend down the staircase. Oh, god. He's coming. He walked closer to the bed, and she tried to make herself as small as she could on the mattress. _

_"Well good morning my princess!" he crooned. Elena kept her eyes shut. _

_"Come on, don't you want to play with me?" he smirked, and roughly grabbed her forearm. _

_Elena yelped, the bruises formed already on her arms hurt to touch._

_He pulled her face closer to his, his green eyes watery and dull. She could tell he had been drinking, she could smell the beer on his breath._

_"Take off your pants. Now." he commanded._

_As he watched, she pulled off her small cotton shorts with shaky hands._

_She closed her eyes as he started to touch her. She could hear his breath picking up as he got more and more excited, and she heard him unzip his pants._

_He collapsed on top of her, his stinky breath blowing gusts into her face. Her arms lay rigid next to her, tears leaking out of her eyes as he thrust into her, two, three times. _

_Loudly grunting now, he roughly grabbed her breasts and squeezed them. _

_She thought hell would be better than this._

_He thrust so hard it started to physically hurt, she had to choke down cries. _

_Her mind went to the place were it always went, on nights like this. Where he couldn't seem to get enough, and her whole body seemed to be crawling with his touch. _

_She thought of a long beach. Where she could lay out in the sun, and smile with her best friend Caroline, and have a cold margarita in her hand._

_He snapped her out of this fantasy._

_"Why are you so quiet, you bitch?" he yelled, slapping her face._

_"Come on! Act like you enjoy it you fucking whore," he said, the words spitting in her face. _

_Elena was shell shocked. He had never asked her for this, what could she do?_

_"Wh-hat.. do you want me to say?" she stuttered. _

_"Ugh. Never mind." he grunted, pulling himself out of her. _

_He got up and pulled up his pants. He was muttering to himself, but he couldn't quite make out what he was saying._

_As he walked back upstairs, Elena numbly put her shorts back on._

_This was day five._

**I decided I wanted a flashback. Anyway, thanks for waiting so long! I hope that was … okay? I didn't like writing it. What do you think? Sorry for taking so long to update!**


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